Button-machine.



N o 6 4 s 5 a 5 P a t e n t e d F e b 3 l 9 o o N B A R R Y I n.

TTTTTTTTTTTT E (Applicat 11111111111111111 N o M u d e l 2 S h e e t S Sh e e t I I a @wir A2 i. B Af MMIII" IMI /Y A l "www No. 643,585.Patented Feb. I3, |900.

N. BARRY, 1R. BUTTON MACHINE. (Application me@ Apr. 19, lees.)

.VNV M w A i I NITED STATES PATENT Finca.

NICHOLAS BARRY, JR., OF MUSCATINE, IOVA.

BUTTON-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,585, dated February13, 1900. Application flied April 19,1899. Serial No. 713,576. (N0mOleI- To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS BARRY, Jr., of Muscatine, in the county ofMuscatine and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Button-Machines; and I hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referegce being had tothe accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in button-machines, and has particularreference to machines in which the button-blanks are operated\upon, butis applicable to blankcutting machines also and to other usefulpurposes. Its object is to provide a self-regulating tool-holder whichwill automatically adapt itself to the condition of the material beingacted upon whether the same be hard or soft or tough or brittle and willthus prevent injury to the material or blanks or buttons being operatedupon.

The invention is particularly designed as a tool-holder, and in theaccompanying draw ings it is illustrated as adapted for a blankdressingtool, and I will so describe it herein; but it is obvious that insteadof a dressingtool, drillers, blank-cutters, and other tools might beattached to the holder and operated in the same manner.

Heretofore in button-finishing machines the tools have been fed orcontrolled by a hand or by an automatically operated screw-feed,resulting in a uniform feed of the tool whether the material beingoperated upon is hard or soft, and it thus frequently results thateither the product is broken or injured or iinished unequally, as thematerial of which the buttons are formed is generally shell or bone,some blanks being more brittle than others and some being hard andothers soft. By my improved holder the feed is controlled by weight orgravity, and therefore is adapted to any kinds or conditions ofmaterial, because if the material be hard the tool will be upheld andshave oft the material more slowly, according to the weight or pressure;but the feed is nevertheless sufficiently positive in its action. If thematerial is hard, t-he tool will operate more slowly. If soft, it willoperate more quickly with the same weight or pressure, but in each casewill stop cutting just as soon as the work is done. The old automaticscrew-feed forces the tool into hard material just as rapidly as intosoft, frequently breaking the hard buttons, which will not stand thesame degree of pressure or rapidity of reduction as will the softerones. In hand-fed work the effect is much the same as in automaticscrew-feed, because the operator does not know if the material or blanksbeing operated upon are hard or soft, and consequently will feed allsubstantially alike.

The invention therefore consists in a novel automatic or gravitalfeed-tool holder and in the novel construction and combination ofdevices summarized in the claims and here`- inafter described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a sideelevation of part of a button-finishing machine, showing my improvedholder applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail section on line 3 3, Fig. 2,looking downward.

/A designates a sleeve in which the holder is guided. This sleeve may beof any suitable construction. As shown, it is provided with an arm a, bywhich it is secured to the edge of a support T by means of bolts a', asshown. Neatly fitted in this sleeve and playing therethrough is thetool-holder proper, which consists of a tube B, that extends entirelythrough the sleeve and is provided at its upper end with alateralprojection b, overlying a lateral projection A of the sleeve, a screw A2being tapped throughprojection A', so as to regulate the limit ofdescent of the holder in the sleeve by contacting with projection b. Apin C transfixes the projections b and A' and prevents rotation of theholder in the sleeve.

Through the closed upper end of the tube B is tapped a screw D, thelower end of which bears against a follower d in the tube, whichfollower rests on top of the tool carried by the holder, which tool, asshown, is a trimmer E, that projects below the lower end of the holder,but is secured and centered between two clamping-jaws F f, securedwithin the lower end of the tube B by means of screws F f. Screw F isthreaded into jaw F,which ts closely Within the tube, and screw fimpinges against the jaw f, which is loosely IOO itted in the tube toallow' for a slight adjustment of the jaws in relation to each other,screw fr being placed quartering to screw F, so as to give a diagonalthrust to the jaws and cause them to li rmly clamp both the edges andthe sides of the tool.

Upon the holder is placed a weight or weights G, which may he slotted,like ordinary scale-weights, to slip laterally onto the screw D, so thatthe weights maybe changed and increased or diminished, as may bedesired.

Below the tool-holder is a blank holder' or chuck H, which is ofsuitable construction and adapted to hold the button-blanks t. Inpractice it is preferred to rotate the chuck and let the tool-holderremain stationary. The particular construction of the chuck and themeans for operating it are not claimed herein, the employment ofrotatable chucks in connect-ion with stationary tool-holders being oldin the art and a particular description thereof herein beingunnecessary.

It will be observed that by turning screw D the tool E may be projectedfrom the holder to any desired extent, and the projection of the toolmay be regulated by the distance of the chuck from the tool-holder andby the thickness of the blanks to be operated upon. The extent ofmovement of the tool toward the chuck is limited and regulated by theadjustment of screw A2. Preferably and as shown the tool-holder isarranged vertically over the chuck, and the tool is lowered and held incontact with the blank in the chuck by gravity of the holder increasedby the weight thereof. To bring the tool into operation, the holder maybe lifted and then the tool moved over the chuck or the chuck under thetool. rIhen the holder is released and descends by gravity until thetool strikes the blank in the chuck, and as the latter is rotatingrapidly the tool immediately begins to cut more or less quickly,according to the hardness of the blank, but always with uniform pressurethereon, the tool operating smoothly and uniformly upon the blank untilit has trimmed it su'fliciently to allow the holder to drop until lugcontacts with the screw A2. Then the holder may be lifted, the blankremoved, and a new one replaced and the operation repeated.

It will be Obvious that no matter whether the blanks be hard or soft theoperation is controlled with what might be termed a yielding gravitalpressure or feed,7 as contradistinguished from the positive movementimparted by a hand or automatically operated screw-feed. The advantagesof this gravital self-adjusting feed I have set out at the outset ofthis specification.

I do not wish t0 limit myself to the specific construction, application,and arrangement of holder herein shown and described; but

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of a rotatable chuck, a vertically-movablenon-rotatable tool-holder operating by gravity, and removable weightsdetachably secured to said holder and adjustable means 'for arrestingthe descent of the holder.

2. In a button-making machine, the combination of the vertically-movabletool-holder, a set-screw for regulating the descent of said holder and apin for preventing rotation of the holder.

3. In a button-making machine, the combination of the sleeve, thevertically-movable tool-holder therein, the set-screw for regulating thedescent of said holder and the pin for preventing rotation of theholderin the sleeve, and the weights for depressing said holder.

4. In a tool-holder, the combination of the vertical sleeve, the holderguided therein and provided with a lateral projection, an adjustableset-screw on said sleeve adapted to engage said projection and limit thedescent of the holder, and the weights for assisting the descent of theholder.

5. In a button-making machine, the combination of a tool-holder, theadjustable ltoolclam ping jaws thereof, the quartering-screws foradjusting said jaws, and the adjustable screw and the follower in theholder for projecting the tool f rom the holder.

6. In a button-making machine, the combination of the holder, thetool-clamping jaws F, f, in the lower end of said holder,quartering-screws F', f', for adjusting said jaws, the follower d insaid holder, and the screw D for adjusting said follower.

7. In a button-making machine, the combination of the sleeve, the nonrotatable holder therein, the tool-clamping jaws F, f, in the lower endof said holder, screws for adju-sting said jaws, the follower d in saidholder, and the screw D for adjusting said follower; with the removableweights G, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. In a buttonmaking machine, the combination of the sleeve, the nonrotatable holder therein, the tool-clamping jaws F, f, in the lower endof said holder, screws for adjusting said jaws, the follower (l in saidholder, and the screw D for adjusting said follower, the adjustablescrew A2 adapted to engage the projection on the holder to limit thedescent thereof and the removable weights on said holder to increase theponderosity thereof.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I afiiX my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

NICHOLAS BARRY, JR.

In presence of- M. HAVERCAMP, MARTIN W. STAPLETON.

IIO

